King Biscuit Boy

Richard Newell developed an early affinity for the blues while growing up in Canada. During his teenage years he acquired proficiency on harmonica and entered the Barons in 1961, an affiliation that produced the single “Bottleneck.” In 1966 he exited the ensemble—by then operating as Son Richard & the Chessmen—to link briefly with the Midknights, yet soon began performing alongside Ronnie Hawkins, who conferred the stage name King Biscuit Boy. After two years with Hawkins, Newell moved to Crowbar and issued the 1970 album Official Music credited to King Biscuit Boy & Crowbar. Across the 1970s and 1980s he issued solo recordings at irregular intervals, among them Mouth of Steel in 1982 and Richard Newell A.K.A. King Biscuit Boy in 1988. Alcoholism undermined his health and curtailed his activities throughout the 1990s, leading to his death from the condition on January 5, 2003, at his Hamilton, Ontario residence.